Where is the water

Sir,‘There’s no Water’…. It’s what people always complaint. Our state is self sufficient when it comes to distribution of water to everyone equally. So where is the water going? Where has it gone? There are many rivers in the state that can be used for many purposes. During election campaigns, every party makes their five year manifestoes with committed promises to fulfil the grievances and needs of the people, but these commitments are deeply professed only during campaigns. After being elected only the most convenient promises are fulfilled. Yet, people still elect the same people to power. The most common problem in most localities in our city is the water crisis. These problems are seen as an advantage by many politicians and use it as a prominent subject in their campaigns. On being elected, these problems are being forgotten.

However, it is not only the government who is responsible for this water crises, every morning if we take a walk, in many localities we will see water from public local water supplies like taps flowing in the streets, about hundreds litres of water or more flow in to the drains every day, because no one is bothered to close the taps, or there is leakage in the pipe and if the plumber is called he will arrive after one or two days, it is the duty of the people to look after these water sources, see if the taps are closed properly or not, if there is leakage then don’t wait for a plumber or any government official as it may take ages for them to arrive, if it is a minor leakage then try fixing it. In Shillong there are many big rivers where its water can be use for many purposes, but now they are just natural drainage system, where people dump their waste (garbage, etc) for example Wahumkhrah, Umshyrpi, etc. despite having many rivers in the state, these water can’t be use as most of them are polluted and acidic. And this is not only dangerous for human being but also for many aquatic animals. Not only people lost their precious water but even these animals lost their habitat. Now these rivers cannot be treated anymore. If only these waters are still clean and useful, we don’t have to worry about water shortage. Our state is known as the wettest plays in our country but now it is just a urban desert, and this is all because of deforestation. Every morning people will stand in lines to fetch water from local taps, and most of the time people will quarrel over a drop of water because water is supplied only for an hour or two. Jerry Bovan Thabah